Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 : RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi cast his vote for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation elections on Thursday as polling began across 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra, reiterating that voting is not just a right but a constitutional duty of every citizen.
Addressing mediapersons after exercising his franchise in Nagpur, Joshi urged voters to participate actively in the democratic process. "Every citizen should exercise the right given to them by the Constitution. They will cast their vote wherever they want, according to their own will, but it is the duty of those who are elected to fulfil the aspirations of the people," he said.
Polling day also saw RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat cast his vote for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation elections. After voting, Bhagwat stressed the central role elections play in a democratic system and appealed to voters to make informed choices, keeping public welfare in mind. Calling voting his "first responsibility of the day," he said citizens must exercise balanced thinking while selecting candidates.
In response to a question about NOTA, he acknowledged its importance and described it as a way for people to express their distress with the candidate selection. Citing Bhishma, a Mahabharata character, he said that NOTA can be a form of anarchy, as not voting for anyone can indirectly transfer votes to someone who may not be preferred. He urged the public to vote for any candidate rather than abstain.
Twenty-nine municipal corporations across Maharashtra have begun polling as a high-voltage campaign comes to an end, setting the stage for a decisive political contest in key urban centres including Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Nagpur, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pimpri-Chinchwad.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena are contesting the civic elections as allies under the Mahayuti banner, except in Pune. However, in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, both NCP factions have come together under a joint manifesto. The main political battle remains centred in Mumbai, where the BJP-led Mahayuti faces the united Thackeray camp, after Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray joined hands on the issue of Marathi Manus in a high-stakes fight for control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country's richest civic body. The last BMC elections were held in 2017.
In Pune, in a major political realignment, both factions of the NCP came together just before the PMC civic polls, following a split in 2023. Ajit Pawar joined hands with Sharad Pawar again and contested against the NDA partner BJP in Pune, whereas Shivsena, led by Eknath Shidne opted to go solo in PMC after failing to set up an acceptable seat-sharing formula with BJP.
According to the State Election Commission, a total of 3.48 crore voters are eligible to cast their ballots to decide the fate of 15,908 candidates contesting 2,869 seats across 893 wards in 29 municipal corporations. A total of 39092 Polling centre has been set up across the state. Polling has begun today and will run from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm, with vote counting scheduled to begin on Friday, January 16.
The State Election Commission announced the election programme for the general elections of 29 municipal corporations on December 15, 2025. Accordingly, voting is being held for the municipal corporations of Brihanmumbai, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Navi Mumbai, Vasai-Virar, Kolhapur, Kalyan-Dombivli, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Nashik, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Akola, Amravati, Nagpur, Chandrapur, Latur, Parbhani, Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Malegaon, Panvel, Mira-Bhayandar, Nanded-Waghala, Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad, Jalgaon, Dhule, Ahilyanagar, Ichalkaranji and Jalna.
According to the State Election Commission, adequate Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have been arranged for the municipal corporation elections. This includes 43,958 control units and 87,916 ballot units. For the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation alone, 11,349 control units and 22,698 ballot units have been arranged.